Analysis of Chinua Achebe's 'Things Fall Apart'

In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the reader is taken on a journey to a Nigerian ethnic group, the Umuofia in the 19th century. During this journey the reader will experience the struggles and conflicts of an extremely respected warrior, Okonkwo. Okonkwo experience Nigeria before and after European imperial era. This fiction book documents the life of the Igbo before and after the cultural consequences of the European missionaries. Achebe criticizes imperialism. My thesis is on the analysis of the book Things Fall Apart.

Though Okonkwo is a respected leader in the Umuofia ethnic group of the Igbo people, he lives in fear of becoming his father – a man known for his laziness and cowardice. He views his father named Unoka as effeminate so he rejects everything his father believed in or stood for. He was ashamed of his father since childhood. His father was a talented musician and gentle with people. His father brought shame to his family because of his irresponsibleness and falling into debts. He was not suited to the chauvinistic standards of the ethnic group. Okonkwo’s behavior is a result of his determination to be unlike his father. He is productive, wealthy, brave, violent, and is opposed to music. Okonkwo becomes well known as a wrestler and farmer. Okonkwo traits led him to achieve greatness financially and socially. He marries three women and has several children. He works hard to provide for his family because he did not have that growing up. He ends up adopting Ikemefuna from another village and raising him like a son. Okonokwo actually treated Ikemefuna better than his biological son. Okonokwo thought that his adoptive son had a lot of potential. The elders ordered to be killed Ikemefuna after three years with Okon...

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...l days until the villagers cough up some ransom money. Contemplating revenge, the Igbo people hold a war council and Okonkwo is one of the biggest advocates for aggressive action. However, during the council, a court messenger from the missionaries arrives and tells the men to stop the meeting. Enraged, Okonkwo kills him with a machete. Realizing that his clan will not go to war against the white men, the proud, devastated Okonkwo hangs himself.

Okonkwo’s suicide shows how things are falling apart. He was consistent throughout the entire book and that was his ultimate problem. He did not know how to adapt or compromise to the Europeans entering Nigeria. He let his pride and intolerance towards change determined that he would rather die than comply with the terms of the Europeans.

Works Cited

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/t/things-fall-apart/book-summary